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Post by stepper on Oct 31, 2015 22:17:05 GMT -6
Tuna - it's a rare treat for them instead of something they get often, but I've always done the packed-in-water version. I can't say it was a concious decision based on knowledge, it's just what I got them.
I prefer MW for deviled eggs; actually I tend to go for MW period, but Steppet prefers mayo.
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Post by Mini Mia on Oct 31, 2015 22:24:45 GMT -6
No. I can tell by the tuna fish that I'll stick with the MW when it comes to deviled eggs. Mayo is only good in very small quantities.
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Post by stepper on Oct 31, 2015 22:29:11 GMT -6
I can tell the difference, but I can live with either one.
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Post by stepper on Nov 5, 2015 18:01:30 GMT -6
Potato soup.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 5, 2015 18:30:22 GMT -6
I love potato soup. But, like the Tuna Fish, it hasn't hit the spot in a long, long while. Can't figure out what may be the problem so I can correct it.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 5, 2015 18:39:40 GMT -6
I made an "eggy in a basket" the other day. I like how easy it is to flip the egg like that. I think I'll start calling it "toad in a hole" though. My great niece/nephew might like that title better.
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Post by stepper on Nov 5, 2015 20:23:28 GMT -6
LOL! It's amazing how the right name will improve things.
You can use mashed potatoes, or a pkg (or two) of butter flavored instant, with celery salt, onion salt, real butter, and milk. I know that's what goes in it, but Steppet's the chef and this is one of those "flavor it to your liking" sort of things.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 5, 2015 22:36:43 GMT -6
I don't mash my potatoes. I cut them up in bite size pieces. Chopped onions. Celery, if I have it. Sometimes celery seed. Salt. Pepper. A stick of butter, or two. When the potatoes are cooked, I add a can of evap milk ... and sometimes I'll add some cheese. A chunk of cheddar or coby ... or a slice or two of American cheese.
I added carrots once, but I didn't like it at all.
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Post by stepper on Nov 6, 2015 19:10:12 GMT -6
The cheese isn't a bad idea, but I haven't tried it myself. Next time I may pick up some shredded cheese just to see how it tastes.
See Phalon?? I'm willing to try some things! (Just not stuff poisoned with kale or spinach or other greeneries.)
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 6, 2015 20:01:00 GMT -6
I made some tater soup ... or as my family has always called it, "The Poor Man's Soup." It was pretty good. Not as good as it used to be to me, but better than it has been in a long time. Yum!
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Post by stepper on Nov 6, 2015 22:09:23 GMT -6
Talk to mom - maybe there's some ingredient that you've forgotten. Although I don't know I'd call it poor man's soup. And it tastes pretty good to me so no matter what they call it, I'm still partaking. What I always thought of as the poor person's meal was dumplings, but I like fluffy dumplings done in chicken broth or chicken soup so poor or not, that's still happening too.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 6, 2015 22:19:34 GMT -6
I think the problem is that I've been playing around with the ingredients, and I should probably go back to basics. Plus ... I've been trying to make soup for one, and I think I haven't been doing a very good job of it. So, today I didn't try and make it for one. I went back to how I always did it before. Except I did add a slice of American Cheese.
The original recipe is:
pan of water diced potatoes chopped onion salt pepper stick of butter big can of evaporated milk
Oooh. And sometimes I get distracted and allow it to go into a roiling boil after I add the milk, so perhaps I keep scorching the milk. Anyway, it was pretty good. Looking forward to a bowl tomorrow. I'm wondering how well it freezes. Since I'm bad at making it for one, I guess I should just freeze half of it.
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Post by stepper on Nov 6, 2015 22:30:31 GMT -6
I don't know how well it'd freeze, but it's certainly worth a try. Mom found she could freeze a lot of things and, not being able to cook for one, she found it was better to cook in amounts that she was used to and freeze left overs.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 6, 2015 23:02:38 GMT -6
I guess there's only one way to find out.
Probably why they called it "Poor Man's Soup" is because most of the ingredients were "free" ... potatoes and onions from the garden. Milk and butter from the cow. Catch rain water. They'd only need to go to the store for salt and pepper.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 6, 2015 23:03:12 GMT -6
Oooh. I also put in celery seed, as I don't have any celery on hand at the moment.
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Post by stepper on Nov 7, 2015 12:00:22 GMT -6
You put more stuff in your potato soup than we do, and it'd be chunky - ours is smoother. Just another thing where what we grew up with has made a lasting impression I guess.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 7, 2015 17:34:43 GMT -6
Yeah. When I saw Alton Brown put the cooked potatoes through the ricer, I though, "Yuck!" I had another bowl today, and YUM! It was better than yesterday. I love the soup, but I can't eat on it as long as other meals. I'll either have to feed it to the cats, see if Mom wants some, or try freezing it and see how that works out. Mom tends not to like my cooking. I get too fancy for her, she says.
I like to experiment by adding more/less or something new to see if I can make it even better. Maybe if I don't mention that I added cheese and celery seed she'll take some of it off my hands.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 7, 2015 18:06:18 GMT -6
You might be right, Joxie - if the milk got scorched, it would have a different taste.
I like potato soup chunky rather than smooth too. Mine is similar to yours, with some slight differences. I use chicken broth instead of water, half-and-half instead of evaporated milk; I throw in some sour cream, and maybe just a blob of butter instead of a whole stick. I love leeks in it too.
I'm not sure about freezing it though - the milk might separate, and the potatoes turn to mush.
I roasted a chicken today. Used the meat from the legs and wings to make white chili. A bowl of it with grated Monterey Jack, a blob of sour cream, and a handful of mini Saltines hit the spot perfectly for this kind of chilly day!
Great thing about roasted chicken is that you've got about a week's worth of meals just by doing different things to it.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 7, 2015 18:11:24 GMT -6
Half and half is creamier than evaporated milk, yes? That sounds doable. Don't know about the chicken broth. Do you not add any water at all? Or just the amount that is needed on top of the chicken broth?
Maybe I'll think of that next time.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 7, 2015 18:18:41 GMT -6
Shoot! Speaking of which...I bet you could easily turn your left-over potato soup into white chili; though it doesn't generally have potatoes in it, they'd serve as a thickener, I'd think.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 7, 2015 18:23:24 GMT -6
Half-and-half is somewhere between heavy cream and milk; it's in the dairy case - Hubs uses it in his coffee. Evaporated milk is that stuff in a can? It's really thick, yes? I've never really used it, so I'm not sure if the product I'm thinking of is the same thing - it's used a lot in baking desserts, yes? If it's what I'm thinking it is, maybe that's why you need to add water - because it's evaporated?
I don't add water - just the half-and-half, broth, and sour cream.
Edited to add that I should mention I boil the potatoes and drain them first, before adding the rest of the ingredients.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 7, 2015 19:02:14 GMT -6
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 7, 2015 19:04:34 GMT -6
I've never had white chili. Haven't thought to try it. But, yeah. I could puree it or mash it.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 7, 2015 19:14:15 GMT -6
Ok, I boil the potatoes, then once they're drained, put them in a pan with broth, half-and-half, sour cream, butter, salt and pepper, maybe some garlic powder. When I add leeks, I saute them first in butter, than add them last minute or so to the soup. Sometimes, I also crumble bacon, or add finely chopped ham too. Very last thing is chopped chives, after I turn off the heat.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 7, 2015 19:22:04 GMT -6
Yes, that's what I was thinking of.
You should give it a try. If you're just going to feed the left-over soup to the cats, you could do the same to the chili if you don't like it.
Just add some chicken, tomatoes, and or salsa, chili powder, cumin, and white beans to the soup, and you've got a white chili/potato soup combo thing.
Or there's probably a recipe out there somewhere.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 7, 2015 19:30:48 GMT -6
I should try it. I just keep comparing it to chili, and it sounds gross. But it's probably a lot like my potato soup, and the way I make macaroni. Leave out the potatoes and onions, use less butter and water, and that's my family's version of macaroni. Sometimes I'll add cheese at the end.
I did not know that you made a roux for macaroni. I've never made a roux for anything. I should try that one day though.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 7, 2015 19:32:45 GMT -6
Ooh. Bacon. I forgot to see if adding a little dab of bacon grease to the potato soup would improve it any.
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Post by stepper on Nov 7, 2015 19:50:05 GMT -6
Oh, the poor cats!! See, this is why guys offer to take ladies out to eat. Or get home and snack enough to "ruin" dinner.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 7, 2015 20:29:31 GMT -6
I don't know if I'd put the grease in the soup....wouldn't that just make it greasy? Then again, I don't use bacon grease for anything...or rarely cook bacon for that matter. I just hate doing it, it makes such a mess. When I add crumbled bacon to the soup, I buy crumbled bacon!
I didn't know you made a roux for macaroni either. Then again, you've never mentioned it before, and I've never been in your kitchen. Ha!
Eye-roll.
The white chili is gone; poor BP, she's the one that wanted it, and she's not even home tonight. Xena Sis's Hubs is over watching the football games - he and Hubs polished the whole pot, except for the small bowl I had.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 7, 2015 21:33:04 GMT -6
Well. I just had to have another bowl of tater soup.
The recipes for macaroni that I've looked up recently all have you cook the roux/sauce, and then add the cooked macaroni to it. I've never done that before. Might try it sometime just to see how good it is. Of course, I don't bake my macaroni either. I cook it on top of the stove and then it goes straight to my bowl from there.
It would just be a tiny bit of bacon grease. And baking bacon is the best way to do it. My sister's grandkids love it baked. It doesn't splatter. That gave me the idea to bake my fried grits, instead of frying them. It's cooks all of the slices at once, and I don't get splattered. Some people even prefer baked eggs over boiled. It gives the egg whites a different texture.
www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#newwindow=1&q=Baked+Bacon www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#newwindow=1&q=Baked+Whole+Eggs www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#newwindow=1&q=Baked+Hard+Cooked+Boiled+Eggs
The new cookbook I got has you bake a whole pound of bacon, and then crumble it into a jar, or baggy to use in recipes throughout the week.
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